


The Axex

by Catoukin (Visionairz)



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: AU, Action/Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Axex, Beta Read, Bisexual Thomas (Maze Runner), Changing POV, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Europe just doesn't exist, Frypan is precious too??, Gally is skeptical, Gay Newt (Maze Runner), I may have made a DND based on this, Inspired by Music, M/M, Minho Ships It, Multiple Pov, My First Work in This Fandom, Nereid - Freeform, Newt and Thomas don't get along, Newt is a Dork, Newt is precious, One-Sided Attraction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sassy Newt (Maze Runner), Slow To Update, Some OOC, Temporarily Unrequited Love, There isn't an arranged marriage, au time period, it's never been touched by man, like my friend absolutely loves frypan already, mythical creatures, not based on any specific mythology, nymph, something is up with Newt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 05:46:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17420207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Visionairz/pseuds/Catoukin
Summary: There’s been a myth, a myth that’s been around for centuries. It tells of a creature part leopard and part hawk. It speaks of its greatness. How its claws are so sharp it could pierce through metal, how its wings spread so far that it blotched out the sun, how its screech is so loud it can make you go deaf in seconds.Thomas and Minho, two great friends since they were younger, have always had an interest in the great beast. So by the time they reached their twenties, they took it upon themselves to find it.Now, after nearly two years of preparation and research, they find themselves on the shores of Britain. With everything they know tucked tightly into their minds and their research packed into satchels they’ll never leave behind, they begin their journey.Except...Mythical creatures don’t exist, right?----------THIS ISN'T DEAD!





	1. Arrival

**Author's Note:**

> Gah! This is my first time writing and posting a story on AO3. I hope it’s decent enough for people to enjoy, because the format of posting this stuff is definitely confusing (and difficult on mobile)
> 
> This fic was inspired by the songs Lincolnshire Posy: VI Lost Lady Found, and Three Celtic Dances: No. I Reel and No. III Jig
> 
> (Bless playing Celtic music in concert band! I really recommend listening to the music)

Various things can be said by a guy taking his first steps onto a harbor after months at sea. Some of them would be murmured in awe, others would be snapped, sharp and commanding. Yet as Thomas stepped onto the wooden dock for the first time, it was neither of them. Instead it was complete silence as he took in the sights and sounds around him.

Seagulls were perched across the docks and flying just above, their cawing loud and evident. The gentle sound of water hitting the edges of the harbor was nearly covered up by the sheer volume of people chatting and shouting. Everywhere were people moving about, carrying items on and off ships, along with others heading up into the city.

Just behind him, Thomas’ long and great friend Minho got off the boat, the wood creaking and shifting as he jumped down. Feeling the slight movement beneath his feet, Thomas turned to face the other.

“God it feels great to get off that ship,” Minho said, looking around as well. “It feels like we’ve been on that thing for years.”

Thomas nodded, smiling partially at Minho’s remark. “Sure has, but at this rate, we won’t have to get on another ship for a long time.”

“You’re right about that, but we should probably get away from the ship. I’m pretty sure they plan on unloading here,” Minho pointed out. He walked past Thomas, making his way off the wooden docks.

Following close behind, Thomas continued to take in his surroundings. A loud bell chimed somewhere nearby, signalling the arrival of yet another boat. It seemed that today was a busy day, ships coming and going often. When they arrived earlier, they had to wait for a spot to open up, being a second indicator aside from the packed crowds of people. This caused some difficulty for the two friends to get off the docks.

Once they reached the stone road connecting the harbor and the city, Minho stopped and crossed his arms. Both of them stood there for a good while, looking over the buildings that lay in front of them. Majority had signs hanging out and over the street, while others had their names scrawled over the door. Unable to tell what most of them said, the two began to head down the street.

They were in search of someplace special. It wasn’t that this place wouldn’t have it — Thomas knowing for a fact it probably had five at the minimum — it was just the manner of how they would find what they were looking for.

After walking for some time, Thomas grabbed Minho by his shoulder and pointed at one of the overhanging signs. “Look, there’s one over there!”

Being jolted out of his own search, Minho looked to where Thomas was pointing and raised an eyebrow. “The Silver Snake? That sounds like a stupid name if you ask me.”

Thomas rolled his eyes and let go of his friend’s shoulder. “It still works. If anything, we have a chance to find someone there, especially since it’s so close to the port!”

“Well, let’s give it a shot then,” Minho said.

The two of them veered off their original course and approached the door to The Silver Snake. They glanced at each other and nodded before Thomas pushed open the door. When they got inside, they were greeted by music and boisterous crowds. Yelling and clanking could be heard as people danced and toasted all around.

“You’d think when you go to a tavern, that people would be a lot calmer than this,” Thomas said to Minho, raising his voice to be heard. This got Minho to laugh and shake his head.

Slowly, the managed to get further into the tavern. Once they reached the bar, they had to cluster closer than what Thomas would consider comfortable just so they could stand next to each other.

Glancing around what he could see of the place, Thomas’ eyes landed on someone standing off to the edge of the noisy group. He held a glass in his hand, taking occasional sips. He didn’t seem to have any interest in the music, though it’s hard to tell when he can’t see the guy’s face. He was wearing a brown, long sleeve tunic, covered by some sort of vest-like thing of a darker brown. From what Thomas could see in the dim lighting, the guy was blond as well.

Poking Minho’s arm to get his attention, the brunette nodded discreetly towards the guy. “How about him?”

Minho turned around partially so he could see the guy. After he took a good look, the Asian nodded. “Worth a shot.”

With that, Thomas pushed away from the bar and approached the guy, Minho just behind him. When they reached him, it was like the guy knew they were coming. He was now facing them, watching them closely. He took a quick swig of his drink and licked his lips, as if waiting. When no one said anything, he raised an eyebrow. “Well? What do you shanks want?”

_Shank?_ Thomas shot a look over to Minho who met his gaze before turning to the guy.

“We have some questions,” Minho said. “That is, if you’re willing to answer them.”

The blond guy shrugged. “Depends on the questions.”

The two began to converse, leaving Thomas to the side to listen and maybe even search around for more candidates. During this time, he took a closer look at the guy. Now that he could see his face, he took note that the guy seemed to be annoyed. Either that or he just had an off-putting resting face.

After a while, the guy introduced himself as Gally. He had agreed to Minho’s terms and decided to join them — as long as they bought him a ride home.

————

The rest of the night was spent by Thomas and Minho recruiting people for their expedition. They had managed to gather up another six after Gally, all expressing their own skills necessary for the trip.

What they didn’t know, was that they were being watched. Or at least, Thomas and Minho didn’t realize.

Though he wasn’t the one being watched, Gally could feel the stare whenever he stood close to the two. By this time, he was watching everyone around them closely, trying to spot the culprit. It was a difficult task at first.

That was, until he noticed someone moving unnaturally away from them. The heavy feeling of the stare left as the other looked away.

Convinced he found who he was looking for, Gally began to advance towards the other, pushing through the crowd of cheering drunkards. It didn’t take him long to get past.

Now one the other side of the large group, he scanned over everyone he could see, trying to find who he was looking for. He had managed to catch a glimpse of a grey flat cap and possibly blonde hair, but in the lighting of the tavern, it was hard to tell.

Once again he felt as if someone were watching, is if their interest was now on him. This caused him to look harder as he slowly spun around. He stopped almost instantly, making exact eye contact with someone across them room.

The moment the other — who Gally could now assume was a boy — realized they made eye contact, his face twisted into one of panic before scrambling away. Adamant to catch the guy, Gally rushed after him.

Pushing past people, Gally was slowly gaining on the other who was trying to make for the door. It wasn’t that hard to catch up, considering some people actually parted for the stronger blond. It had nothing to do with Gally being some bad person or anything, it was more he was notorious for not backing down. Over the weeks he’s been in the port city, regulars have come to know not to mess with the foreigner.

Reaching out, Gally successfully grabbed onto the boy’s arm, earning a short squeak from the younger blond. They jerked and tried to pull themselves out of his grip to no avail.

Pulling the boy closer, he spun the younger one around so he could look straight at him. He was definitely shorter than Gally, the latter having to look down slightly to meet the smaller one’s eyes. They were staring at him with wide eyes, tense where they were being held. Fight or flight seemed to have kick in, and he was definitely in flight mode.

“What do you want?” Gally asked, voiced lowered into a slight growl. “Why are you watching us?”

The boy’s eyes darted away from Gally for a split second before he answered. “I don’t want anything.” The first thing Gally picked up was an accent. “I’m just trying to find something, that’s all.”

Gally ended up having to hold on tighter, the boy’s white, short sleeve tunic scrunching up as he tried to wriggle away. “What are you looking for then?” Gally presses. “What do we have that you want?”

The boy went quiet, refusing to speak. The silence grew tense the longer it went on, the noise of the bustling tavern droning out to a low hum for the two. When the younger one didn’t answer, Gally yanked the shorter blond away from the door.

Despite the resistance he was receiving, Gally had managed to drag the boy over to where Thomas, Minho, and a few of the other recruits were sitting. They had managed to snag a table thankfully, allowing them a change to sit away from the crowd and the bar.

When they approached, Thomas looked up from where he was talking to Minho. The brunette frowned when he saw who Gally was holding, but didn’t say anything. Minho, on the other hand, did.

“Who is this?”

Gally shoved the shorter boy a bit forward, keeping his grip tight. “We’ve had someone watching us. Says he wants something but is pretty adamant about staying quiet.”

Standing up, Minho moved around the table so to stand in front of the boy, coming to be the exact same height. The Asian stood there for a few moments, looking over the kid in front of him.

“What’s your name?”

The blond stayed quiet, quickly receiving a squeeze from Gally to get him to talk. He ended up mumbling his answer.

Minho raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

There was another period of silence, the boy biting his lip before speaking up.

“Newt.”


	2. Parameters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took way too long! I didn't mean for it to take weeks to post

The group watched the boy -- Newt -- closely after he said his name. It was a bizarre name, at least to Thomas. Not once in his life has he ever heard of someone named after a reptile, but there can be a first for everything.

As Minho continued to question Newt, Thomas leaned forward, crossing his arms on the table. Some of the others did the same.

“What do we have that you want?”

Newt’s eyes darted around as if he were unsure of what to answer. The silence that ensued was tense, leaving the younger boy to fidget. When he did finally speak up, his words weren’t as surprising as one may have expected.

“I want to take part in what’s going on,” he said slowly. “I–”

Thomas cut him off right then. “We aren’t looking for any freeloaders.”

“I’m not–”

“Freeloader, orphan, some kid looking for adventure; we aren’t gonna let you join us,” Minho stated. “Don’t think we’d let you join us because of that. An extra mouth to feed that wouldn’t help us in any way...there’s no point.”

Newt stood there for a few moments, staring directly at Minho. The way his expression deepened into a partial frown was the only indicator of whatever was going on in the blond’s mind. That frown soon turned to a glare. “I’m not a freeloader, an orphan, or some kid looking for an adventure. Hell, I’m not even a kid. I just have something going on that requires me to leave. If I don’t, nothing is going to happen.” His gaze softened partially and he looked over at Thomas. “I wouldn’t be a liability, I just need a way out of this place.”

Thomas got to his feet and walked around the table so he was standing next to Minho. He too could look straight at the blond, there being no height difference between the three. “What’s going on that means you have to leave?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Newt answered. He seemed much more confident than he had a few moments ago.

Gally turned Newt around so he could address him. “And why’s that?”

“It’s a private family matter,” the blond said pointedly.

“Why can’t you just leave by yourself?” Thomas asked. “If anything, shouldn’t you already be gone if you have to leave?”

Newt looked over at Thomas and Minho, Gally allowing him to turn back around. “It’s– because if I disappear, they’re not sure if I actually left or not. If I leave with a group, then word will reach my family and they’ll know.”

“What sort of decision does a parent make that requires their child to not even be in town?” Minho muttered, barely audible over the sound of the tavern. “An arranged marriage?”

Newt must have some sort of pristine hearing because he heard it as well despite being further away than Thomas. “What? No! It’s not an arranged marriage!”

“Do people even do that still?” Gally questioned, earning a look from Newt. His expression was not portrayed in Thomas’s answer.

“People don’t do arranged marriages anymore. It’s completely unethical to force someone to marry someone they don’t love!”

Thomas noticed the quick flash of what he could’ve sworn was shock flash across the boy’s face. He watched Newt quizzically for a few seconds before looking towards Minho. He nodded his head to the side once the Asian saw him and they both moved away from the table.

“What do you think?”

Minho shrugged. “I don’t know. He hasn’t shown us any useful skills but another pair of hands could be useful.”

“Yeah, another pair of hands would be great,” Thomas agreed. “But even then, if we let him come with us, we don’t know what he’s good at like you said. We could see how he fares on the trip if necessary.”

“I say we should figure it out beforehand.”

“Minho, we’re leaving tomorrow morning. What makes you think we have time to find out his skills in that amount of time?”

There was a pause as the other thought. “We could try. We do have to plan how exactly we are gonna travel–“

“We have that figured out.”

“–and we have to figure out food sources and what everyone is going to do,” Minho finished despite being interrupted. “We could take this as a chance to learn what he can do. We have a while yet before it gets dark out, so it wouldn’t hurt. If he has skills we like, then we can decide if he’s coming with us or not tonight.”

Thomas nodded. He liked where Minho was going. Getting Newt to help them out would help tremendously when it came to preparations. “Let’s do that. It would be nice to get out of this place sooner rather than later.”

With a few more exchanged words, the two leaders of the expedition returned to the group. Gally had at this point released his hold on Newt’s arm but was still hovering close. It made sense for him to release the boy since it wasn’t like he would be running off for all Thomas knew.

Everyone at the table turned to face the two, waiting to hear what they had been talking about.

Minho approached Newt, stopping just far enough away that the space between them wasn’t uncomfortable. He explained to the blond their plan, earning a raised eyebrow and an ever-so-slightly judgemental look. Yet by the time Minho had finished, Newt had a small smile.

“This is your only chance,” Minho warned. “If we don’t like what you can do, you’re not coming with.” Newt nodded.

Minho then turned to face the rest of the table, making a small hand gesture to Thomas. Taking this as his cue, the brunette also faced the group.

“As you already know, we are leaving tomorrow morning,” Thomas stated, just loud enough to be heard. “Before we split up to get prepared, does anyone have any input, questions, or anything else?”

One of the guys raised his hand partially and stood from his seat. “How are we going to get food out there? We have people who are good with building shelters and one who is great with medical stuff, but no one to provide food, or at least cook what we can find?”

Thomas glanced over at Minho, hoping to find an answer from him. To his surprise, another person spoke up.

“I can cook just fine.” Thomas turned his attention to the guy who spoke. He had darker skin and short black hair. “If we can find anything out there or bring stuff with, I can do my best.”

One of the guys made a comment that Thomas couldn’t hear, though he was sure wasn’t all that nice from how the darker one gasped.

“Cooking is not just a woman’s job! Men can cook too!”

Minho sighed at Thomas’ side. He had been the one to recruit the cook, which led to him having more knowledge on the guy than Thomas. “Frypan, he’s just poking fun at you. We’re glad to have you on the crew. Honestly though, who names their kid Frypan?”

Frypan hummed from where he sat in reply to Minho, not answering his question.

Minho rolled his eyes in a playful manner at the guy. Thomas, on the other hand, went back to the original topic.

“Are there any other comments, questions, or concerns?”

The silence that followed was a good enough answer for Thomas. With a clap of his hands, he said, “Alright, I guess we should go get prepared.” He then turned to Minho, hands still clasped together as he pointed them at his friend. “Should we go do the thing?”

Everyone at the table had gotten up and dispersed, including Gally, leaving just the three of them within the tavern.

Looking over at Newt and then back to Thomas, Minho nodded his head. “Yeah. Let’s do it, see what he can do.”

As they made their way out of the tavern, Thomas and Minho chatted casually. They talked about what they hoped to find, as well as the people they found to join them on the journey.

“Are you sure that we can do this?” Minho asked, making his worries known. “All we have are the stories we read as children, growing up.”

Thomas gaped at Minho before quickly closing his mouth. “We’ve been planning this for years, researching...we can’t give up hope when we just got here!”

Minho lowered his head, running his hands alone the hem of his of his shirt. He then looked up from his hands. “You’re right about that. I’m just worried that it will all be in vain. We have no proof any of it actually happened, that such a creature exists! How can we be sure any of it ever existed with just books about everything?

“Thomas, we don’t know if the creature actually exists, we don’t know if things such as nymphs and gods and centaurs ever existed. All we have is stories.”

“Minho…” Thomas stopped walking and placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, getting him to stop as well. “No one knows what Europe is like beyond the British Isle. It became an international law to never step foot onto the main part of Europe, to never cross the border between it and Asia. For all we know, anything could live there. There are forests, grasslands...places untouched by mankind for centuries!”

The Asian sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. He then looked up at Thomas with a slight smile. “Alright, you’re not wrong. Just remember I’m worried that none of it ever existed in the first place.”

“Well–”

“What do you guys want me to do?” Newt piped up from behind the two.

Thomas, cut off by the blond, looked back at Newt. He didn’t say anything, not entirely sure how to answer. This whole thing had been Minho’s idea after all.

Thankfully, Minho was able to answer, saving Thomas from stumbling over his own words. “We need you to help us out with some things like I said earlier. Doesn’t necessarily mean what exactly you’ll be doing, but you will be helping us.”

That seemed like a good enough answer to Newt, who didn’t press further with more questions. Though from the expression on his face, Thomas could tell he did, in fact, have many more questions.

Those questions can be worried about later. For now, they had to make sure everything was ready to go by morning.


	3. Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been 7 months???  
> My god, I didn't expect to suddenly drop this on a whim and not touch it until school is almost back up and running again. 
> 
> To treat y'all for the 7-month wait here's a bit of a longer chapter.
> 
> I would also like to apologize, I did start this in February and I wrote the last 3/4 of this chapter here in July. You will be able to notice the change in style and I am so sorry. I lost track of where this was originally going so there may have been some sudden character shifts I'm not noticing. Either way, I hope you all enjoy!

“Where’s he goin’?” 

Thomas looked up from where he was sorting through the two bags he and Minho had brought with them. They were in a small room at an inn. It was dimly lit by a single lamp on the table next to one of the beds where the bags and their contents were sprawled out. Across the room was a second bed, still untouched.

He set down the small item he had been holding. “Minho?”

Newt nodded, peering out the single window between the two beds. They were only a story above the ground, so it wasn’t that hard for him to spot Minho as he quickly made his way down the street. “Why is he in such a rush?”

“It’s not important,” Thomas said bluntly, causing the Brit to pull his gaze away from watching Minho to instead stare straight at Thomas.

_Not important?_

“What do you mean it’s not important?” Newt asked. The two of them had quickly ushered him into the room once they reached it. They didn’t enter until maybe ten minutes later, and even then it was just Thomas. He was intrigued.

“I mean it’s not important. What _is_ important is that we take care of these bags. We have to make sure we have room for all of our essentials and then some.” Thomas reached his hand into the closest back and pulled out something folded. He then held it out to Newt, who took it cautiously.

Once he had it in his hands, he ran his thumb along it to find it was some sort of well-made cloth material. Unfolding it, he found it was a bag, similar to the two on the bed. It was decent sized, two straps so it can go on someone’s back.

Thomas then continued. “Sadly they aren’t really waterproof, but they still work. Just bring that over here and help me sort.”

“But aren’t I supposed to be doing things to, you know, prove I’m essential?” Newt asked.

“This is an important part of travel, knowing how to properly pack. Now get over here and help me.”

Newt sighed and went over to the bed. He lay the bag on the pillow then looked over everything on the bed. There wasn’t much and everything was small, but the fact he never noticed either of them wearing the brown bags baffled him. They were obviously noticeable, but somehow he just never saw them.

There were all sorts of things laying around. Some extra clothing, large sheets of parchment (probably for mapping), some small notebooks, even some decent looking fountain pens. More towards Thomas’ side of the bed were small trinkets. One even looked like it might be a picture frame, but Thomas snatched it off the bed before Newt could catch a glimpse.

Not entirely sure where to start, he picked up the other bag that had originally been on the bed. Lifting open the flap, he found it was completely empty, so he began the process of packing. It was easy enough, organizing the clothing on this side of the bed to fit with the mapping supplies. There was even plenty of room by the time he slipped the last notebook in.

Setting the bag aside, Newt glanced over at Thomas. He was still working on the first bag, but it was quite obvious he had more items than Newt.

“So,” Newt began, hoping to spark a conversation. “What are you guys looking for?” 

Thomas looked up, frowning slightly. “What do you mean?”

“You guys are going somewhere, trying to find something. I can only assume because of all of the notebooks and such.” Newt gestured to the notebook Thomas currently had in his hand. “So, what is it?”

The other stayed quiet for a few moments, glancing down at the notebook. “You’ll find out if we decide you can come with us.” Thomas placed the notebook in the bag. “For now it doesn’t matter.”

Newt scoffed, a look of disbelief on his face. He then sat on the bed, pushing the packed bag to the side so he had room. “Why should I even bother trying if you won’t even tell me what I’m trying out for?”

“Because you’re trying to get out of town if I remember right,” Thomas pointed out, closing the flap to the bag and setting it aside.

Newt crossed his arms and looked up at Thomas. “I can just find a different group if I need to. Maybe they’d tell me what they’re planning on doing so I’m not left in the dark.”

Thomas shrugged. “You can try, but from what I’ve heard, travelers are rare here. People just come and go for trading.”

The blond huffed. He knew Thomas was right. For as long as Newt could remember, there’s barely been any true travelers or adventurers stopping in the city. They might pass through, but they have never stayed.

“Is there anything else you want me to do?” Newt eventually asked.

Silence hung between the two, Thomas probably thinking about his question.

“At the moment, no. But the bag I gave you,” Thomas pointed at the empty cloth bag, “I need you to hold onto it. If you’re going to come with us, you need to do some packing yourself.”

Newt turned his head to look where Thomas had pointed and picked up the bag, folding it like it originally had been. He didn’t have any belongings with him, so how he was supposed to pack was beyond him.

“Do you live close to here?” Thomas asked.

“I live just outside the city.” Newt looked back up at Thomas. “That’s maybe a twenty-minute walk from here.”

The knowledge seemed to have pleased Thomas, considering he was now smiling. “Great. Depending on what happens, we will stop by there later tonight and get you packed. For now, I guess you can relax, but Minho may have some work for you when he comes back.”

As soon as he was told he could relax, Newt was moving stuff off the head of the bed so he could practically lay down. He had taken his shoes off earlier out of habit, so it didn’t matter that his feet were now on the bed with his knees in the air. With his head propped up by his hands, he peered up at the brunette. “What kind of work do you think he’ll make me do?”

“I’ve got no clue,” Thomas admitted.

“Well that’s just great,” Newt muttered. He had hoped to mentally prepare himself for whatever was coming next, but apparently, that would not be the case.

So to let time pass by, he closed his eyes. He listened to the faint sound of people yelling outside and Thomas shuffling around at the foot of the bed. Not that long after Thomas began moving stuff around again, Newt felt a weight at the bottom of the bed be lifted. He took this fact and interpreted it as items being cleared off, so he slowly stretched out on the bed. To his delight, everything had been removed.

Having removed his hands out from under his head, the blond rolled onto his side, facing the wall. He was still listening, alert enough that he knew he wouldn’t fall asleep. This didn’t mean he wasn’t comfortable. In fact, if this were any other day, he would’ve taken a nap just for the sake of it.

Yet, of course, he had to stay awake in case Minho returned soon.

Apparently, his confidence in not falling asleep had been misplaced, because the next thing he knew was he jerked awake. No one had made a loud noise or touched him, but it was instead the feeling he tended to get when he dreamt of falling or something. Except for this time; Newt had no idea what he had been dreaming about.

Blinking open his eyes, he rolled over to face the rest of the room and squinted as he looked around. He came to find Thomas sitting on the edge of the other bed. The lamp next to Newt had been turned off, leaving him in a much darker part of the room, whereas Thomas had the lamp on his side on.

Not much time seemed to have passed, which relieved Newt. Yet his movement had caught Thomas’ attention. He looked up from what he was reading and watched Newt for a few seconds. “Sleep well?” He asked.

Newt rolled his eyes at the comment. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but I don’t have anything with me to do.” He propped himself up on his elbow so as not to accidentally fall asleep again. “How long was I asleep? Did Minho come back and I missed it?”

Thomas shook his head. “You were sleeping long enough for me to get through five chapters. Then again I am a fast reader.” 

“But did I miss Minho?” Newt pressed.

“No, you didn’t. He’s going to take a while with what he’s doing.”

Newt looked at Thomas with a quizzical expression. That did explain why he hadn’t been woken up. In lieu of staying awake, he allowed himself to lay back down and this time pull the covers out from under him and drape them over himself.

 

* * *

 

The next time he woke up was when a light was blared into his face. His eyelids glowed a sheering white and forced him out of his nap. With a groan, Newt raised a hand to block out the light and pried his eyes open. After a few moments, he split his fingers apart to see what was shining in his face.

A lantern was being held in front of him maybe only a few inches from his nose. The light coming from it was bright, the flame flickering inside of the glass. It didn’t take long before whoever was holding it blew the flame out, allowing Newt to lower his hand. 

Standing in front of him was Minho, not looking entirely pleased. “Glad to see you’re up and kicking.”

The blonde sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Was it necessary to shine a light in my face?”

The sound of metal clanking against wood told Newt that Minho had set the lantern down. As he lowered his hands from his eyes, he spotted it sitting on the table next to the bed he was on. “It’s a lot more fun to shove fire in someone’s face than to shake them awake or drench them with cold water,” Minho said with a smile. He then crossed his arms as he looked down at the sitting boy. “I have some work for you to do and I would much rather it be done tonight instead of tomorrow morning when we leave. That includes getting you home to pack your things.”

Of course. He had forgotten that Minho wanted him to do a few things before they left. Now may not have been the greatest time to have actually slept, despite what Thomas had said. So, the blonde got to his feet and looked at the Asian. “What do you want me to do?” Newt asked. Part of him had a feeling that they just wanted free labor out of him before they left, but another part told him that these were Americans, surely they weren’t that bad. Plus, Minho wanted him to go home and pack his things. That had to mean he was going, right?

“Everyone is out packing, gathering what they need for the trip ahead of us,” Minho explained. “That means there’s only three of us here to do any actual preparations that include figuring out how we will get out supplies to our transportation.”

Newt tilted his head to the side at that. “Can’t you just take everything there? I don’t see why you can’t just carry it all.”

Minho looked down at him as if he were an idiot. “We can’t just take what we have there.  
  
“But why is that?”

“Because we don’t know where our ride is,” Minho said bluntly. “Now get up and come outside. We have work to do.”

The young Brit huffed and ran a hand through his hair. He paused for a moment before quickly reaching to the head of the bed and grabbing his flat cap which had come off when he fell asleep. He put the hat on as he got to his feet before rushing out of the room after Minho without so much as a second glance.

Once he was downstairs and caught up to Minho, Newt fell into step next to him. He was curious about what the older man wanted him to do, but it wasn’t like he would outright ask. He was far too interested in what would happen without asking constant questions.

“First things first, we need to get you packed and ready to go. I have your bag with me since I assumed you would probably forget.” Minho held up the folded backpack as he looked over at Newt. “Lead the way.”

Newt stopped in his tracks just as they reached the door and turned to face Minho. “You’re coming with?” The Asian nodded. He hadn’t taken this into consideration. Of course one of them would want to come with as he packed. How was he going to explain this? “I don’t think--”

“It’ll be fine. I just want to make sure you pack what is necessary.” Minho offered the blonde a smile that wasn’t returned. Instead, Newt had faced away from the older male and once again began to walk.

The teen proceeded to shove his hands into his pockets, not sure what to do with them. This entire situation he was now in wasn’t what he had hoped at all. He couldn’t have some random stranger walk into his house, his parents would flip! Of course, it wasn’t like he could do anything about it since turning down Minho would mean risking his chances of being able to travel with them.

They walked through the streets for a while, the older male occasionally asking questions about the town and how it was run with the constant travelers. Newt had explained easily about how people who live around the town have learned to constantly help travelers and how trade works at the docks. A lot of people tended to find interest in American goods, trading what they had for all sorts of foreign items such as some overly patriotic depictions of bald eagles. He personally never found interest in the souvenirs from across the ocean.

It was a while before Newt brought up something that bothered him about earlier. “Hey, Minho?” The other hummed in acknowledgment. “The guy back in the tavern, he said I wanted something from you guys. I, uh, don’t really. I even told him that. I just--”

Minho cut him off with a snort. “Even I could tell that you wanted something from us, you still do.” This made Newt glance over at Minho with a confused look. “The way you looked around at us when Gally brought you to the table and the fact you were watching us, you definitely wanted something.”

Newt raised an eyebrow at what Minho said. He didn’t want anything from them, he just wanted away from the harbor town. That’s literally all he wanted! So what in the world could Minho be on about? “Pardon me?”

Minho simply shrugged. “How much longer until we get there?” Of course, he would change the topic. This made Newt scoff and roll his eyes.

“We’re pretty close, but you probably should wait outside.”

“And why should I do that?” Minho asked, casting a glance in Newt’s direction.

The blonde huffed. “My family isn’t too fond of visitors. They’d ask way too many questions and then start lecturing me for inviting a stranger.” The last part wasn’t _entirely_ true, but it would have to do. That doesn’t mean he was lying per se, he was just giving Minho a half-truth.

To Newt’s relief, Minho seemed to believe him. He had nodded with a simple “alright”, allowing the teen to let go of one of his main worries.

When they had finally arrived at his house, Newt informed Minho to wait by the front door while he went inside. The building itself was a small, red-brick cottage. The front door was a small outcrop surrounded by a white stone that was rimmed with dark wooden accents. The roof was peaked with the front wall sticking out with a similar white stone finish like the door with three small windows. Just below it was the brick wall, a large window plastered right in the center with the curtains shut. It looked like it could fit about three people inside; two parents and a child, and that’s exactly what it contained.

Newt entered the house, knocking lightly on the door as he stepped inside. “Mum? You home?” 

A young lady poked her head out of a doorway that leads out from a small kitchen and dining room. When she saw who was at the door, she smiled. “Newt! Where have you been?” She walked out of the separate room and wiped her hands off on her simple dress before pulling her brown hair out from a bun. “You’re usually home by now, you’re never gone more than a couple hours and it’s been all day!”

Newt sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He had left the house that morning like he typically does, except this time he hadn’t stopped back at all. On a normal day, he would return home and help out around the house or work with their neighbors out on the water but he hadn’t. “Yeah, I meant to come home but I lost track of time.”

“Well, now that you’re here, I heard that Jordan needs some help outside. Do you think you could head out there?” His mother asked. “They’ve been out there all day and--”  
“Mum,” Newt said quickly, cutting her off. “I can’t. I… I’m trying to figure out my answer. I have two more weeks left and I found people who could show me--”   
  
This time, his mother cut him off. “Newton, we talked about this. Two weeks is plenty of time before you decide, you don’t need to go running around any time soon.” He was about to say something else when she held up her hand to silence him. “You need to stay here and help Jordan and the others. It will give you the same experience as anything else.”

Newt shook his head, dropping his hand back to his side. “I need to take this chance, it’ll probably be the only one I’ll ever get!” His mother frowned at him as he continued. “You guys said it was my decision to make, so let me figure this out for myself, please.”

The woman sighed and walked up to her son. She was much shorter than him, only coming up to his nose. “Hun, I know. I know you want to rush out there and make rash decisions but you’re too young, you’re too vulnerable,” she said softly, reaching up and cupping his face in her hands. “Going out there every day is bad enough, I don’t need you running off and risking you never coming back.”

The blonde sighed and averted his mother’s gaze. He didn’t know what else to say so he stayed quiet.

“You’re my child,” she murmured, eyes wide and pleading. “You’re my only son, If you didn’t come back, I don’t know what I would do.”

Newt smiled softly and carefully took her hands off his face. “You have Sonya too, it won’t be so bad without me here. Plus, I’d make sure to stop by or contact you before my decision is made.”

His mother bit her lip before letting out a sigh. “Are you sure you really want to do this? I don’t want you to feel like you’re forced to go with them. You would tell me if they were forcing you, right?” His nod seemed to relieve her. “Good. I’m guessing that you’re here to pack and you’ll be with them for a while?”

Newt nodded again and gestured to the nearby stairs. “Yeah, but it shouldn’t take me long. They gave me a back to use already so I shouldn’t need anything.”  
His mother finally returned his initial smile. “Alright. Why don’t you head on up and get ready? I’ll let Jordan know what’s going on.” She then reached up and pecked her son on the cheek before stepping back. “I’m sure they’re waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” he said before moving away and towards the stairs. It shouldn’t take him that long to get a few changes of clothes. He could easily wash whatever he brought with so he wouldn’t need that much, to begin with.

Once he had finished packing, Newt shouldered the backpack and was about to leave his bedroom when he paused. He turned around and his eyes fell on a picture frame sitting on the table beside his bed. Inside it was a drawing, a really well done one at that. He approached the frame and picked it up in his hand. It was an ink sketch of him and his sister before she moved out that is. She was smiling wide as if she had been laughing right before the artist worked on her expression. Her eyes were sparkling with joy in a way Newt didn’t know could be portrayed on paper. In the bottom corner of the picture were a signature and a date. It had been made a year ago by his father.

It’s been a while since he’s seen his sister, which prompted him to slide his bag off and open the flap. He quickly placed the frame inside before putting the bag back on and making his way out of the room. The drawing meant too much to him to leave behind. It was the only thing that came out of the only time he’s done something with Sonya and his father.

By the time he was outside, Minho was leaning against the outside wall talking to a woman. They seemed to be having a casual conversation, the two of them laughing and chatting with ease. To get the Asian’s attention, Newt rapped his knuckles against the doorframe right beside the other. It seemed to work as now Minho had noticed him. “I’ve finished packing.”

Minho grinned at Newt’s words and turned to the lady. He apologized for having to excuse himself and they said their goodbyes. With one final wave, the lady walked off and round the back of the house. “Who was that?” Minho ended up asking once she was gone. “I never actually asked her what her name was.”  
“Jordan,” Newt answered. “She lives here as well.”

Minho shot a confused look in the Brit’s direction before shrugging. “She was nice, pretty hot if I say so myself.” That earned a snort out of Newt who quickly coughed to hide the sound. “What?”

Newt shook his head, smiling ever so slightly. “Nothing. I just find it pretty funny.”

The older man scoffed and shook his head. “Whatever you say.” He then pointed in the direction to the town. “We need to get back, we have a few more stops to make before tonight.”

Newt nodded and they set off down the dirt path. There weren’t many trees in the area aside from the few that lined the worn road. It was a calm area, one constantly filled with the music of songbirds and the beautiful colors of spring and autumn. It was something he would miss.

**Author's Note:**

> Bless you for making it this darn >:D
> 
> I have an Instagram @catoukin and a tumblr misteria-woon if you ever want to stop by


End file.
